Reed loomed on the path with a wide-legged stance. Ready for action. Their different aftershaves intermingled sourly, not complementing each other, just like their personalities.
“Is that supposed to be some type of threat?” Jasper questioned, pushing his hands into his cream chinos.
Reed made a guttural sound at the back of his throat. “Take it however you want to, you entitled little prick,” he seethed, stepping into Jasper’s space, frustration and annoyance written across his face. They were now chest to chest.
“Easy? There are cameras all over the estate,” Jasper warned, pulling his hands from his slacks and glancing around the grounds. “Surely another case of assault wouldn’t look too good on your NFL file.”
“It would be worth it,” Reed seethed under his breath.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?” Jasper blasted back.
“Pretty sure I just did jackass.”
A countdown began in my brain as to how long I had before Reed punched Jasper. “Guys, knock it off,” I demanded, pushing in between the two men and casting ahelp melook at Nix.
From my sandwiched position, I could feel Jasper’s heartbeat fluttering in his chest like a caged bird. He wasn’t as calm as he appeared. The man must have been slightly afraid of Reed; the aggression bouncing off him would have made most men take a step back. But Jasper didn’t like to lose face. That’s one important thing I learned over the years: he didn’t cope well with embarrassment of any kind. His life was all about keeping up appearances. And jilting him at the altar would be a huge slap on the face. One he wouldn’t take well, hence his threats.
“Why don’t you go inside, Jasper?”
“And leave you here with this animal? Not likely,” he replied, puffing out his chest so it pressed against my back.
“What did you say to me, dick?” Reed growled, going to move around me. I followed him, butting Jasper back with my shoulder and flattening my hands against the aggressor's chest.
The slam of a car door and the noise of squeaky sneakers hit my ears. Thankfully, Nix had read the situation.
“OK, timeout. Both of you. It’s fucking painful to watch, bickering like a couple of bitches. You guys hate each other, we get it. Reed, get in the car,” Phoenix barked, moving me to one side and placing his hand on Reed’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you go and get ready, Storm? Didn’t you say Jasper is taking you to lunch?” We all turned to look at Nix, surprised by his comment.
I jumped on the back of that loaded intervention. “Er, yes. Remember darling. You promised you’d take me to that Italian on Bay Street?”
“Did I?” Jasper’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as he cast a look around the group. Testosterone crackled in the air. The entire sense of that chemical was clearly oozing through Reed’s pores. I wasn’t sure what Jasper was omitting, bullshit perhaps?
Jasper’s face relaxed as his smile reappeared and he held out a hand. I placed my palm in it as he tugged me to his side again.
My body stiffened as he leaned down and nuzzled his nose against my cheek, totally ignoring the two men who were standing there staring.
His voice had switched to a tone I had never heard before: sensual, like a lover's voice. “Of course, my sweet. Let’s go and change. The white Chanel skirt suit I bought you last week should do nicely.”
I didn’t pull my head away; that would have been too obvious. Reed’s jaw ticked at Jasper’s comment. I hated how he tried to treat me like a dress-up doll. My shoulders slumped, and I gnawed my lip and turned away.
“Reed?” Nix’s voice bled through that aura of violence.
“Come on, Stormy, I’ll zip you up,” Jasper added with a playful nudge, giving me one of his smarmy smiles as he tapped me on the ass. I felt sick in my mouth. Hegot the reaction he wanted as Reed surged towards him and grabbed Jasper's shirt in his fist.
I watched as Reed cocked a menacing brow. “You touch her. You die,” he boomed, a primal response for a man guarding his territory. It caused Jasper to smirk further and raise his hands in surrender again.
“Cameras remember?”
“That’s it, hotshot, time to go,” Phoenix cut in, grabbing the hand that held Jasper’s clothing and twisting it away. Reed drew back, spitting on the floor next to the other man’s feet with a sullen expression. The gesture was simple enough, but it spoke volumes about what Reed thought of Jasper.
As Phoenix pretty much wrestled Reed towards his car, I twisted and watched them go, slowly dying inside as Jasper loomed by my side. There was a hideous silence that lasted over a minute.
“Disgusting. That’s the ape you're in love with? He has no finesse or manners. Does he always behave like an animal?” I allowed despair to slip back into the cracks of my heart. A sullen thought slithered into my brain as I watched him leave.
Don’t go.
As the car backed away down the driveway, my eyes caught Reed's. They were full of determination, and I just hoped what he was about to do wasn’t illegal. There was now too much at stake. That ache in my chest, which never faded, intensified.
